It Hurts, Doesn't It?
by Nesloga
Summary: Jack and Tony have a talk, or rather, Jack sticks his icy foot in his mouth and Tony screws up. Sort of. - Same 'verse as The Cold That Creeps


_Word Count: 1,148  
_

* * *

"A superhero, eh? Never would have pegged you as one, thought you were some big shot douche. I mean, the way that the magazines raved about your constant conquests paints a pretty clear picture. And that title they gave you? Merchant of Death? If nothing else that name made you think you'd be like Pitch, have I told you about Pitch yet? Grumpy guy, Pitch. Likes to hide in odd places and jump out to scare you, incites fear in kids. The Boogeyman!" Tony calmly oiled Dummy's joint, ignoring Jack all the while._If I ignore him, he'll go away. _"Hey, are you listening to me? Because let me tell you, being ignored? Not that fun, and I should know fun! I'm the Guardian of Fun, I decide what's fun for god's sake!" _Or not._

Tony gently, and with deliberate slowness, (let it never be said that Tony Stark tried to make anything easy. For anyone. Including himself.) put the can of oil down and patted Dummy a few times. "You're done, you hunk of metal. Now go charge."

"Oh sure, talk to the _robotic_ arm. Because that's all you're comfortable talking to, isn't it?" Jack climbed up on the table that Tony was leaning against, abandoning his perch on the Mark II. "Because humans disappoint, they let you down. They _betray_ you. Obi did, didn't he? Selling your weapons, selling _you_. And for what? Your old man's empire? One of the many things that Howard would rather spend time on then you; I bet you would of given Obi Stark Industries if he would of simply asked."

Tony turned towards the door, it was about time that he went upstairs, Pepper would be getting worried. He'd been in his workshop for three days now, three days of Jack following him around, chattering away like they were the best of buds. Interfering in his life, talking about things that he knew nothing about. making a nuisance of himself. "JARVIS, have Pep order me some coffee. That stuff from Italy, with the cream."

"Yes, Sir….. Will Mister Frost want anything?"

Sometimes, only sometimes, Tony hated how awesome he was. Like when he gave his AI the ability to sense magic, because _hello_? Jack had been drifting in and out of his mansion for months now and Tony was getting sick and tired of the frosty teen being able to sneak up on him in his own god damned house. So, giving JARVIS the means to sense the twerp, seemed like a good idea. That was until he found that his AI and Jack jammed in a way that still confused him; because, the hell? what did a AI and a sarcastic three-hundred-something teen have in common?

"No, JARVIS. Frosted Flakes doesn't want anything. In fact, he was just leaving. Weren't you, _Guardian_?"

Jack blinked at Tony, swiveling his head side to side slowly, a secret smile stretching across his face. "I hit a nerve, didn't I? Reminding you of Obi and his betrayal, but that's not all, right? You wouldn't be so angry if I was merely talking about Obi, you're past Obi now. If you weren't you wouldn't be nearly as interesting. No, what's got your iron panties in a twist is that I was talking about humans in general. Like Rhodey."

Tony punched in the command code to get rid of any unwanted visitors, "Leave." He wasn't going to play this game with Jack. He wasn't going to let the brat analyze him as he pleased. If he wanted to find out how he ticked he had to do it like everyone else, trying and failing to get through JARVIS. Not by throwing out inane comments that weren't even remotely true, because Tony wasn't still hurting from the way that Rhodey didn't back him. Didn't _trust_ him. Not at all.

"I was right, yeah? Rhodey was your best friend, your only friend really. Because Miss Potts and Hogan can only get so close to you, since you're their boss. But Rhodey? Rhodey, he was your friend. Even though he was military, he was still a friend." Jack dodged the laser that shot at him, taking refuge behind the Mark IV, and what a beaut it was! Tony had only gotten better since last he'd seen him, drunk as a skunk and twitching with the need to build, to create. To prove that he could do something besides just kill. "And he abandoned you when you needed him, left you high and dry when you said that you would stop making weapons. Stop killing."

"I want you out, Frost. Out of my lab and out of my life." Here, Tony paused. Waiting for something he knew wouldn't happen, because when had Jack ever listened to him? Never, that's when. So it didn't surprise Tony when the winter spirit only stepped closer, his cold digging into Tony's bones and making them ache.

He couldn't stand it. The cold. He couldn't and wouldn't, he had to get Jack to leave. To go away, to never come back with his cold and ice and terrible ability to get right to the heart of things without even trying.

"I don't believe in you."

There, he said it. He finally said it. The words that he had silently voiced every time that he wanted Jack gone, wanted the teen to disappear. The words that he knew would drive the spirit into leaving for good. Because he'd listened when Jack had raved the second time they met. He had carefully taken mental notes as Jack introduced himself and spoke about the parallels between them. The crushing loneliness that Jack feared above else, the thought of losing his few believers and being left alone by the humans, his Guardian friends, Tony.

Tony knew about this simple fear, a fear that could be released with five easy words. So he said them, he vocalized the sentence that he knew would send Frost packing.

When all that met his words was silence Tony sighed, letting himself breath again, not knowing when he held his breathe to begin with. "Sir, Miss Potts is here with your coffee. She also said to remind you that you have a board meeting to get to." Tony looked up, letting his shaking hands rub his face. The cold was already leaving, Jack was gone.

"Alright, tell her I'll be up in five."

"Yes, Sir."

As Tony left he failed to realize that the spot that Jack had been in was iced over. That a portion of the cold that the Guardian seemed to carry with him everywhere was tucked away just behind his newest Iron Man model; but JARVIS didn't. He recognized the magical ice for what it was, a piece of Jack left behind. A silent promise to not abandon Sir, no matter how much that may hurt in the end.

* * *

_I've decided to take the idea of Jack interacting with Tony and spread it out to Jack interacting with the Avengers. Fun times. Vote for which Avenger you want to see next._


End file.
